1. Field
The embodiments discussed herein are directed to electronic systems, and more specifically to the power supplies in electronic systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The electronics industry has developed power supply (PS) and battery charger (BC) systems to power associated devices (AD) including portable DVD players, laptops, video games and televisions to home appliances. Many of these devices have an in-use or full power cycle ratio 1% to 50%. The power cycle indicates the percentage of time that the AD requires the full power potential of the power supply. These devices typically operate in two modes, low and high, power consumption. The devices operate in high power mode when on, active or charging a battery. They operate in low power mode when off or in standby mode.
The power supplies for these devices are designed to provide enough power to supply the maximum power consumption needs (high power mode) of the AD via a single output. The PS/BC is typically connected to the main alternating current (AC) power source (plugged in) 100% of the time. Therefore the power supply or battery charger (these terms are used interchangeably throughout this document) is active and consuming AC power when the AD is turned off, in standby mode, sleep mode or physically disconnected, in other words “downtime”. Power consumption during “downtime” is also called phantom and vampire power use. This embodiment reduces the AC power consumption of the PS/BC, based on conventional technology, by up to 100% during downtime. The embodiment disclosed herein provides an upgrade path for manufacturers to meet or exceed the evolving Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Department of Energy, Energy Star program qualifications. The electronic industry as well as society is very interested in improving the power savings of these devices.